I was in elementary school when the "pokemon craze" hit the US and everyone brought games and cards to school. I still have funny memories of getting my cards or gameboy confiscated because I was battling friends or trading during school. (It was much harder to be sneaky when you had to use a cable to connect your systems.) That being said, I only have fond and happy memories of Pokemon. However, as I started getting older, my interest in the series kept declining, but I still bought each new game. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed with Heart Gold / Soul Silver and still have not beaten it yet. I didn't have very high hopes for this game, however, I can tell you this game surpassed anything that I could have hoped for and is by far one of the best Pokemon games that I have ever played. My interest in the series has been reinvigorated. The core battle mechanics remain the same tested and true old formula, but the presentation has improved leaps and bounds! The graphics and environments are some of the best that I have seen on the DS. There are full 3D environments that look astonishingly good. Furthermore, Black and White will have seasonal cycles, as well as night/day cycles. Another added feature is triple battles where each trainer sends out 3 pokemon. I have only had a few hours to play the game, so I cannot speak for the plot as a whole or the post-story activities, but my brief experience with the game has been nothing but pure nostalgic fun.

Anyways, I'll leave the detailed reviewing of the game itself to someone else. I'll move on to what I really want to talk about: the differences between Black version and White version.

Normally, it really doesn't matter which Pokemon version you get, because both are essentially the same thing, except for minor pokemon differences. However, surprisingly, for the first time in a Pokemon game, there are actually significant differences between the games. This time, there are unique regions to each game and the visual theme of each game is quite different.

~~~ Visual Theme ~~~So, what do I mean by the visual theme? Well, Pokemon Black has more urbanized, industrial locations, whereas Pokemon White shows a more natural world. This can be seen throughout the game. You will see small differences such as a gardening patch in Mistralton city in Pokemon White compared to a building in the same spot in Pokemon Black. Most of the cities give off a natural atmosphere in White. In White, the cities have more grass, plants, and trees, and in Black the cities have more concrete, asphalt, and buildings. The cities in Black are more developed, and in some cases slightly futuristic-looking. Opelucid (Souryuu) City is the most notable; the city look almost entirely different between the two versions.

~~~~ White City / Black Forest ~~~~Pokemon Black has Black City and white has the White Forest. These are the version exclusive regions I mentioned earlier. They fit the visual themes set forth by each game: Black City is a heavily urbanized area with several trainers to battle with Pokemon from lvl 40 to the mid 60s. There are also many item shops with items that can you help you in game. White City, on the other hand, is a natural forest with low leveled, unevolved Pokemon that you can catch. Black City will definitely help you more in terms of raising your own Pokemon's levels and getting supplies for future battles. However, White City will cater more to people who plan to collect Pokemon and try to complete their pokedex.

~~~~~ Special Battles - Triple and Rotational ~~~~In both Pokemon White and Black, there are 5 special battles. Pokemon White has 4 Triple Battles and 1 Rotational Battle. Pokemon Black has 4 Rotational Battles and 1 Triple Battle. In both of these special battles, both trainers send out 3 pokemon. These special battles are a bit hard to explain without visuals. The mechanics the battles will be better explained in a simple way during game.

Triple Battle:It is a 3 on 3 battle, however, the order you place your pokemon matters. The pokemon in the middle is can attack the enemy's middle, left, or right pokemon, but your pokemon on the left can only attack the enemy's pokemon on the left and the middle. Similarly, your pokemon on the right can only attack the enemy's pokemon on the right and the middle. So, your pokemon on the left cannot attack the opponent's pokemon on the right, and your pokemon on the right cannot attack the opponent's pokemon to the left. To further complicate things, attacks that damage all pokemon such as explosion or earthquake cause more damage when done by the pokemon in the middle, but also inflicts more damage to the pokemon in the middle.** When I say left or right, I am saying it from the perspective of behind your trainer.

Rotational Battle:Like the triple battle, both trainers send out three pokemon. However, this time, the pokemon are not fighting against each other all at the same time. Even though all three are sent out, the battle appears like a 1 vs 1 match. Each trainer sends one pokemon forward to battle as one would in a normal battle. But here's the twist: at the start of your turn, you can rotate between any of the three to send forward. You can think of this as basically a pokemon switch without wasting a turn. This adds to the battle strategy when considering types. For example, if your opponent has a grass type forward and you have a water type forward, you would rotate your water type to put a fire type in front.

Hopefully, my explanations made sense. If not, don't worry, they are far less complicated when the game explains it to you. If you like the Rotational Battles better, then you might want to gt Pokemon Black since it has 4 of those and only 1 Triple Battle. Maybe rotational battles aren't your thing and you want to do Triple Battles. Then, you should consider Pokemon White.

~~~~ Trainer Differences ~~~~There are sometimes minute differences in the pokemon line up of different trainers. I don't really feel that this is significant to talk about. However, one somewhat large change is the gym leader in the 8th gym. Pokemon Black features a stern old man, whereas Pokemon White shows a young girl. These gym leaders have the same pokemon, the only thing different is their appearances/avatar.

~~~~~~~~Legendaries~~~~~~~Pokemon Black has the white Legendary Pokemon, Reshiram, which is a Dragon/Fire type.Pokemon White has the black Legendary Pokemon, Zekrom, which is a Dragon/Electric Type.

Strategic Note: The sum of the base stats for both legendaries is 680, however, the spread is slightly different. Both have base 100 hp and 90 speed. Reshiram has 120 attack, 100 defense, 150 special attack, 120 special defense. Zekrom has 150 attack, 120 defense, 120 special attack, 100 special defense. This means that Reshiram is better suited to deal and take special attacks, while Zekrom is more suited to deal and take physical attacks.

In my honest opinion, I think the Dragon/Electric legendary will be far more useful for competitive battling. One of the best electric type pokemon is Zapdos. However, Zapdos is stunted by its flying type, leaving it vulnerable to devastating attacks such as a 50% health loss from Stealth Rock. This new legendary should easily be able to replace that spot. Plus, the versatility of a dragon type may put it ahead of other notable electric types such as Electivire.

~~~~~~~~Version Exclusives~~~~~~~~~~~

And of course, like all previous pokemon games. Each version has a few pokemon exclusive to only that version. I wouldn't stress out at the loss these pokemon though. You can get all of them through online trades later, if you really want to complete your pokedex and catch 'em all. Check the bottom of the review for a list.

~~~~ Conclusion ~~~~Pokemon Black/White is definitely one of the best pokemon games to come out. I definitely recommend it to anyone of any age. Don't waste time deciding whether or not to get the game: get it. Now, the only decision you have is whether to get Black or White. I decided to go with Pokemon White. White version just appealed more to me and seemed more "open". Black version looked cluttered, in my opinion. Also, I feel that the Black Legendary (found in white version) would be more useful in battle. Try checking out a few screenshots online to help you decide which visual style you like better, then get whichever version you like better!

Update: I just beat the game. It was a fun RPG and I think I am going to now start prepping for competitive battling. I think what drew me into this game the most was that all the characters are brand new until you beat the elite 4. The base plot style is still the same: beat 8 gyms, collect pokemon, navigate through a few caves, solve some little puzzles, defeat enemies from an evil group in a big building, defeat that evil group at their hideout again, fight rivals, elite 4, etc. This style has become standard for Pokemon and the sales data shows it works remarkably well. This game brought back the feeling of the original red / blue as you had to guess what type each Pokemon was, learn new movesets, get legitimately surprised during evolutions, etc. This game really brought back the mysteriousness of Pokemon and their mystic allure that originally piqued your curiosity a decade ago when you first played. Since the game had all new Pokemon, the game inherently took more steps to lead you in and actually is far more beginner friendly than other games.

Looking toward the future: (purely speculation and personal opinion)This little section isn't really part of the review; it's just a place for me to dump my stream-of-consciousness about how I feel about the inevitable sequel. With 649 Pokemon, I'm not sure if Nintendo will decide to make a whole new fresh set of Pokemon in their next game as they did in this one (then again, people on forums said that were doubtful of a follow up to 2nd gen ages ago when we hit 251). I think Nintendo may just add a few (around 100) new Pokemon and include many of the current 649 in the next game. Now that we have a 3DS, it's only a matter of time before Nintendo starts dropping hints and teasers for the next 3D Pokemon RPG. Even though I love Pokemon games, the thing that keeps me coming back for more isn't the story, but rather the battle mechanics and strategy involved. In my opinion, it seems like each new Pokemon game just applies the same plot template and changes a few things. It's clear from the sales data that these games are raking in money and are hugely successful, but I actually would like to see some variation in the next game. The general plot idea seems a bit overused and trite now after being adapted for 5 generations of Pokemon games. I actually really enjoyed the gamecube Pokemon RPGs Colosseum and XD. Maybe Pokemon could incorporate more RPG elements in terms of exploration and interacting with the world, perhaps a Collosseum-like RPG game modeling styles of other Nintendo RPG series like Zelda. Actually, now that I think about it, I realize that I don't know what exactly I would change; I just want to see something a little new. A new Pokemon game with the same plot line will sell millions, so I don't think GameFreak and Nintendo will gamble on something new when they found something that sells. Well, that's just my opinion; I'm sure many people would disagree with me. Regardless of plot, the battle mechanics have me hooked and I will definitely be buying the next Pokemon game. If you have some time to spare, drop a comment about what you want to changed/added/removed in the next game.

Most helpful critical review

Main-series Pokémon games are mostly all the same, so there's not much to say about them. They all follow the same pattern and so on. So if you've played one, you can assume that everything is pretty much the same as it's always been.

However, compared to HeartGold and SoulSilver, which i absolutely LOVED, this game feels very sloppy. I have heard that it was developed concurrently with HGSS and that on top of that it was rushed -- maybe that's why. But it's no excuse. It makes for a very disappointing game considering i just put 300+ hours into the previous generation.

I am an older player (24), so i probably have a different perspective on this than a 10-year-old, but here is a very long list of the bad things and the good ones. First the bad:

1. Unlike HGSS, the touch screen is almost completely un-used except for within the PC interface and during battles. Throughout the entire game you have this pointless 'C-GEAR' feature taking up the entire bottom screen. The menu can only be accessed by pressing X. If you turn the Dowsing Machine on, you have to press X to close it and then press X again to bring the menu up. You can not talk to people with the touch screen. You can't skip dialogue with the touch screen. You can't even skip the opening intro with the touch screen. It feels like, why even bother having a touch screen when you don't use it for anything?

2. Unlike HGSS, you can not turn on auto-run. You have to hold B the entire time.

3. Unlike... every Pokémon game for the last 10 years... you can not set it so that the L button functions like the A button. There's no reason for this, the L button doesn't actually DO anything in the game, they've just inexplicably removed the feature.

4. Unlike HGSS, the menu system is very poorly thought out. Despite what i said above about the touch screen being almost completely un-used, some features in the menu can ONLY be accessed with the stylus -- so not only is the game inconveniencing you by almost never using the touch screen, it's also inconsistent about it.

The item menu is EXTREMELY slow and cumbersome. If you obtain a new item, it pushes the entire menu down a notch, so when you go back into it you've selected a different item. This is very irritating when you're going through a cave or something and you keep using Repels. You might have a Super Repel highlighted the entire time, but then you find a Poké Ball or something on the ground, and now suddenly you're trying to spray a Sun Stone.

The above also comes into play in the Poké Ball menu during battles. If at some point you pick up a Poké Ball that you didn't already have, the game will completely re-arrange the Poké Ball menu in the battle interface. This has led me to almost waste my Master Ball several times, because the items are not where i expect them to be.

Another example of inconsistency: Once you have brought up the menu (by pressing X), you can then navigate it using the touch screen. You can select 'Save' with the stylus, you can select 'Yes' you would like to save the game with the stylus... but then you can't get OUT of the Save screen without pressing A. It is not possible to dismiss the 'You saved the game.' message with the stylus.

5. The PC has seen almost no improvements over Platinum. You still have to select 'Move Pokémon' every time. Why does it even HAVE the 'Deposit' and 'Withdraw' options? They're completely worthless. At the very least, put the Move option at the top of the menu.

6. Viewing stats and so on is more difficult than in previous games. Re-arranging moves is cumbersome and requires several button presses to reach the correct menu location.

7. All of the personal 'emotional' sort of touches that were added to HGSS are gone. Your Pokémon no longer follow you around on the map. You can no longer see ribbons from the status menu. There are no touching moments with your Pokémon like when Ethan/Lyra gives you the Leaf Crown in HGSS.

8. Pokéathlon is gone. It has been replaced by Pokémon Musicals, which i earnestly believe is the dumbest and most pointless feature ever to be added to any Pokémon game. I thought the Contests in Platinum were bad -- this is far far worse. It is SO stupid. Don't even attempt to do it, you will be all the more disappointed.

9. The game now censors your Pokémon names. Some might say that's a good thing, little kids are playing after all. However, automatic censorship of 10-character names is difficult to the point of being useless. Aside from the fact that there are thousands of variations of bad words that kids will come up with, here is an example of just how difficult it is to do: It is not possible to trade the Pokémon 'Cofagrigus' on the GTS (without giving it a nickname) because the censorship objects to the official name that Nintendo gave it. Seriously.

10. The PC boxes are censored as well. Completionists in Pokémon games often fill their PC boxes with all of the Pokémon they've obtained in order of their Pokédex number, and then name the boxes accordingly. For instance, your first box might be named '001-030' or '001-074' (if you skip pre-evolutions like me). Many people have done this in Pokémon games for several years. This is no longer possible, because for some absurdly arbitrary reason you can no longer have more than 4 digits in a PC box name. ???

11. Nintendo had the chance to really improve the trading system. You could see it going that way (there have been several good changes -- see below), but then they un-did all of their work it by forcing you to choose a Pokémon to trade TWICE, and then of course confirm it TWICE. It is so irritating.

12. Although you see this complaint with every new generation, i have to say that many of the new Pokémon are extremely un-inspired. For instance, the fighting Pokémon named 'Sawk' and 'Throh' are just blue and red guys in karate suits. (And honestly, 'Throh'? That's really what you came up with?)

That said, there are many good parts to the game:

1. Some of the new Pokémon, on the other hand, are quite rad. I very much like Reuniclus and Chandelure.

2. The updated Pokémon sprites/animations are, for the most part, very nice.

3. The game is much faster. Battles are quicker, even with animations turned on. Trading seems twice as fast, although this is cancelled out by the extra step they make you go through before-hand (see above).

4. You can now trade Pokémon directly from your PC -- you don't have to put them in your party anymore.

5. Related to the above, the Poké Transfer feature -- which allows you to migrate Pokémon from Generation IV games to B/W -- is very fast, and also allows you to select Pokémon directly from the PC. You trade six at a time and it only takes a moment or two (even with the mini-game you have to play, which is easy). It also doesn't kick you out after you complete a transfer. I was pleasantly surprised.

6. The music in the game is fantastic. Driftveil, Mistralton, Cold Storage, and Village Bridge all have really catchy themes.

7. There is a lot to do post-game -- although not as much as in HGSS.

8. Your main rival and antagonist, N, is probably the best antagonist in any Pokémon game, ever. I like him a lot.

9. The story has several moments of genuine humour. A lot of it is pun-based, but there are other moments that are funny as well. A character from Platinum makes a cameo at the end of the game which i honestly laughed aloud at.

10. Some parts of the game have been made less tedious. An obvious example is the fact that TMs last for ever. Another example is that experience gain has been reworked -- you now gain extra experience if your Pokémon is lower than the enemy Pokémon. This change also applies to Pokémon holding an Exp Share. This makes levelling up a lot easier and faster.

Overall, i found the game pretty good. If you like Pokémon games, i wouldn't turn this one down. However, despite its handful of improvements, it is no-where near as good as HeartGold and SoulSilver were. I am hopeful that this is just because they were rushed, and that the next generation, or even the 'Grey' version, will re-add all of the advancements that were made in HGSS.

I was in elementary school when the "pokemon craze" hit the US and everyone brought games and cards to school. I still have funny memories of getting my cards or gameboy confiscated because I was battling friends or trading during school. (It was much harder to be sneaky when you had to use a cable to connect your systems.) That being said, I only have fond and happy memories of Pokemon. However, as I started getting older, my interest in the series kept declining, but I still bought each new game. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed with Heart Gold / Soul Silver and still have not beaten it yet. I didn't have very high hopes for this game, however, I can tell you this game surpassed anything that I could have hoped for and is by far one of the best Pokemon games that I have ever played. My interest in the series has been reinvigorated. The core battle mechanics remain the same tested and true old formula, but the presentation has improved leaps and bounds! The graphics and environments are some of the best that I have seen on the DS. There are full 3D environments that look astonishingly good. Furthermore, Black and White will have seasonal cycles, as well as night/day cycles. Another added feature is triple battles where each trainer sends out 3 pokemon. I have only had a few hours to play the game, so I cannot speak for the plot as a whole or the post-story activities, but my brief experience with the game has been nothing but pure nostalgic fun.

Anyways, I'll leave the detailed reviewing of the game itself to someone else. I'll move on to what I really want to talk about: the differences between Black version and White version.

Normally, it really doesn't matter which Pokemon version you get, because both are essentially the same thing, except for minor pokemon differences. However, surprisingly, for the first time in a Pokemon game, there are actually significant differences between the games. This time, there are unique regions to each game and the visual theme of each game is quite different.

~~~ Visual Theme ~~~So, what do I mean by the visual theme? Well, Pokemon Black has more urbanized, industrial locations, whereas Pokemon White shows a more natural world. This can be seen throughout the game. You will see small differences such as a gardening patch in Mistralton city in Pokemon White compared to a building in the same spot in Pokemon Black. Most of the cities give off a natural atmosphere in White. In White, the cities have more grass, plants, and trees, and in Black the cities have more concrete, asphalt, and buildings. The cities in Black are more developed, and in some cases slightly futuristic-looking. Opelucid (Souryuu) City is the most notable; the city look almost entirely different between the two versions.

~~~~ White City / Black Forest ~~~~Pokemon Black has Black City and white has the White Forest. These are the version exclusive regions I mentioned earlier. They fit the visual themes set forth by each game: Black City is a heavily urbanized area with several trainers to battle with Pokemon from lvl 40 to the mid 60s. There are also many item shops with items that can you help you in game. White City, on the other hand, is a natural forest with low leveled, unevolved Pokemon that you can catch. Black City will definitely help you more in terms of raising your own Pokemon's levels and getting supplies for future battles. However, White City will cater more to people who plan to collect Pokemon and try to complete their pokedex.

~~~~~ Special Battles - Triple and Rotational ~~~~In both Pokemon White and Black, there are 5 special battles. Pokemon White has 4 Triple Battles and 1 Rotational Battle. Pokemon Black has 4 Rotational Battles and 1 Triple Battle. In both of these special battles, both trainers send out 3 pokemon. These special battles are a bit hard to explain without visuals. The mechanics the battles will be better explained in a simple way during game.

Triple Battle:It is a 3 on 3 battle, however, the order you place your pokemon matters. The pokemon in the middle is can attack the enemy's middle, left, or right pokemon, but your pokemon on the left can only attack the enemy's pokemon on the left and the middle. Similarly, your pokemon on the right can only attack the enemy's pokemon on the right and the middle. So, your pokemon on the left cannot attack the opponent's pokemon on the right, and your pokemon on the right cannot attack the opponent's pokemon to the left. To further complicate things, attacks that damage all pokemon such as explosion or earthquake cause more damage when done by the pokemon in the middle, but also inflicts more damage to the pokemon in the middle.** When I say left or right, I am saying it from the perspective of behind your trainer.

Rotational Battle:Like the triple battle, both trainers send out three pokemon. However, this time, the pokemon are not fighting against each other all at the same time. Even though all three are sent out, the battle appears like a 1 vs 1 match. Each trainer sends one pokemon forward to battle as one would in a normal battle. But here's the twist: at the start of your turn, you can rotate between any of the three to send forward. You can think of this as basically a pokemon switch without wasting a turn. This adds to the battle strategy when considering types. For example, if your opponent has a grass type forward and you have a water type forward, you would rotate your water type to put a fire type in front.

Hopefully, my explanations made sense. If not, don't worry, they are far less complicated when the game explains it to you. If you like the Rotational Battles better, then you might want to gt Pokemon Black since it has 4 of those and only 1 Triple Battle. Maybe rotational battles aren't your thing and you want to do Triple Battles. Then, you should consider Pokemon White.

~~~~ Trainer Differences ~~~~There are sometimes minute differences in the pokemon line up of different trainers. I don't really feel that this is significant to talk about. However, one somewhat large change is the gym leader in the 8th gym. Pokemon Black features a stern old man, whereas Pokemon White shows a young girl. These gym leaders have the same pokemon, the only thing different is their appearances/avatar.

~~~~~~~~Legendaries~~~~~~~Pokemon Black has the white Legendary Pokemon, Reshiram, which is a Dragon/Fire type.Pokemon White has the black Legendary Pokemon, Zekrom, which is a Dragon/Electric Type.

Strategic Note: The sum of the base stats for both legendaries is 680, however, the spread is slightly different. Both have base 100 hp and 90 speed. Reshiram has 120 attack, 100 defense, 150 special attack, 120 special defense. Zekrom has 150 attack, 120 defense, 120 special attack, 100 special defense. This means that Reshiram is better suited to deal and take special attacks, while Zekrom is more suited to deal and take physical attacks.

In my honest opinion, I think the Dragon/Electric legendary will be far more useful for competitive battling. One of the best electric type pokemon is Zapdos. However, Zapdos is stunted by its flying type, leaving it vulnerable to devastating attacks such as a 50% health loss from Stealth Rock. This new legendary should easily be able to replace that spot. Plus, the versatility of a dragon type may put it ahead of other notable electric types such as Electivire.

~~~~~~~~Version Exclusives~~~~~~~~~~~

And of course, like all previous pokemon games. Each version has a few pokemon exclusive to only that version. I wouldn't stress out at the loss these pokemon though. You can get all of them through online trades later, if you really want to complete your pokedex and catch 'em all. Check the bottom of the review for a list.

~~~~ Conclusion ~~~~Pokemon Black/White is definitely one of the best pokemon games to come out. I definitely recommend it to anyone of any age. Don't waste time deciding whether or not to get the game: get it. Now, the only decision you have is whether to get Black or White. I decided to go with Pokemon White. White version just appealed more to me and seemed more "open". Black version looked cluttered, in my opinion. Also, I feel that the Black Legendary (found in white version) would be more useful in battle. Try checking out a few screenshots online to help you decide which visual style you like better, then get whichever version you like better!

Update: I just beat the game. It was a fun RPG and I think I am going to now start prepping for competitive battling. I think what drew me into this game the most was that all the characters are brand new until you beat the elite 4. The base plot style is still the same: beat 8 gyms, collect pokemon, navigate through a few caves, solve some little puzzles, defeat enemies from an evil group in a big building, defeat that evil group at their hideout again, fight rivals, elite 4, etc. This style has become standard for Pokemon and the sales data shows it works remarkably well. This game brought back the feeling of the original red / blue as you had to guess what type each Pokemon was, learn new movesets, get legitimately surprised during evolutions, etc. This game really brought back the mysteriousness of Pokemon and their mystic allure that originally piqued your curiosity a decade ago when you first played. Since the game had all new Pokemon, the game inherently took more steps to lead you in and actually is far more beginner friendly than other games.

Looking toward the future: (purely speculation and personal opinion)This little section isn't really part of the review; it's just a place for me to dump my stream-of-consciousness about how I feel about the inevitable sequel. With 649 Pokemon, I'm not sure if Nintendo will decide to make a whole new fresh set of Pokemon in their next game as they did in this one (then again, people on forums said that were doubtful of a follow up to 2nd gen ages ago when we hit 251). I think Nintendo may just add a few (around 100) new Pokemon and include many of the current 649 in the next game. Now that we have a 3DS, it's only a matter of time before Nintendo starts dropping hints and teasers for the next 3D Pokemon RPG. Even though I love Pokemon games, the thing that keeps me coming back for more isn't the story, but rather the battle mechanics and strategy involved. In my opinion, it seems like each new Pokemon game just applies the same plot template and changes a few things. It's clear from the sales data that these games are raking in money and are hugely successful, but I actually would like to see some variation in the next game. The general plot idea seems a bit overused and trite now after being adapted for 5 generations of Pokemon games. I actually really enjoyed the gamecube Pokemon RPGs Colosseum and XD. Maybe Pokemon could incorporate more RPG elements in terms of exploration and interacting with the world, perhaps a Collosseum-like RPG game modeling styles of other Nintendo RPG series like Zelda. Actually, now that I think about it, I realize that I don't know what exactly I would change; I just want to see something a little new. A new Pokemon game with the same plot line will sell millions, so I don't think GameFreak and Nintendo will gamble on something new when they found something that sells. Well, that's just my opinion; I'm sure many people would disagree with me. Regardless of plot, the battle mechanics have me hooked and I will definitely be buying the next Pokemon game. If you have some time to spare, drop a comment about what you want to changed/added/removed in the next game.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

I originally wrote this review for Pokemon White, but I copied it here for you Pokemon Black fans :)

Quick Personal Statement

I was in elementary school when the "pokemon craze" hit the US and everyone brought games and cards to school. I still have funny memories of getting my cards or gameboy confiscated because I was battling friends or trading during school. (It was much harder to be sneaky when you had to use a cable to connect your systems.) That being said, I only have fond and happy memories of Pokemon. However, as I started getting older, my interest in the series kept declining, but I still bought each new game. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed with Heart Gold / Soul Silver and still have not beaten it yet. I didn't have very high hopes for this game, however, I can tell you this game surpassed anything that I could have hoped for and is by far one of the best Pokemon games that I have ever played. My interest in the series has been reinvigorated. The core battle mechanics remain the same tested and true old formula, but the presentation has improved leaps and bounds! The graphics and environments are some of the best that I have seen on the DS. There are full 3D environments that look astonishingly good. Furthermore, Black and White has seasonal cycles, as well as night/day cycles. Another added feature are special battles, where both trainers send out 3 pokemon. I have only had a few hours to play the game, so I cannot speak for the plot as a whole or the post-story activities, but my brief experience with the game has been nothing but pure nostalgic fun.

Anyways, I'll leave the detailed reviewing of the game itself to someone else. I'll move on to what I really want to talk about: the differences between Black version and White version.

Normally, it really doesn't matter which Pokemon version you get, because both are essentially the same thing, except for minor pokemon differences. However, surprisingly, for the first time in a Pokemon game, there are actually significant differences between the games. This time, there are unique regions to each game and the visual theme of each game is quite different.

~~~ Visual Theme ~~~So, what do I mean by the visual theme? Well, Pokemon Black has more urbanized, industrial locations, whereas Pokemon White shows a more natural world. This can be seen throughout the game. You will see small differences such as a gardening patch in Mistralton city in Pokemon White compared to a building in the same spot in Pokemon Black. Most of the cities give off a natural atmosphere in White, while the cities are more developed, and in some cases slightly futuristic-looking in Black. In White, the cities have more grass, plants, and trees, and in Black the cities have more concrete, asphalt, and buildings. Opelucid (Souryuu) City is the most notable; the city look almost entirely different between the two versions.

~~~~ White City / Black Forest ~~~~These are the version exclusive regions I mentioned earlier. Pokemon Black has Black City and white has the White Forest. These regions fit the visual themes set forth by the game: Black City is a heavily urbanized area with several trainers to battle with Pokemon from lvl 40 to the mid 60s. There are also many item shops with items that can you help you in game. White City, on the other hand, is a natural forest with low leveled, unevolved Pokemon that you can catch. Black City will definitely help you more in terms of raising your own Pokemon's levels and getting supplies for future battles. However, White Forest will cater more to people who plan to collect Pokemon and try to complete their pokedex.

~~~~~ Special Battles ~~~~In both Pokemon White and Black, there are 5 special battles. Pokemon White has 4 Triple Battles and 1 Rotational Battle. Pokemon Black has 4 Rotational Battles and 1 Triple Battle. In both of these special battles, both trainers send out 3 pokemon. These special battles are a bit hard to explain without visuals. The mechanics the battles will be better explained in a simple way during game.

Triple Battle:It is a 3 on 3 battle, however, the order you place your pokemon matters. The pokemon in the middle is can attack the enemy's middle, left, or right pokemon, but your pokemon on the left can only attack the enemy's pokemon on the left and the middle. Similarly, your pokemon on the right can only attack the enemy's pokemon on the right and the middle. So, your pokemon on the left cannot attack the opponent's pokemon on the right, and your pokemon on the right cannot attack the opponent's pokemon to the left. To further complicate things, attacks that damage all pokemon such as explosion or earthquake cause more damage when done by the pokemon in the middle, but also inflicts more damage to the pokemon in the middle.** When I say left or right, I am saying it from the perspective of behind your trainer.

Rotational Battle:Like the triple battle, both trainers send out three pokemon. However, this time, the pokemon are not fighting against each other all at the same time. Even though all three are sent out, the battle appears like a 1 vs 1 match. Each trainer sends one pokemon forward to battle as one would in a normal battle. But here's the twist: at the start of your turn, you can rotate between any of the three to send forward. You can think of this as basically a pokemon switch without wasting a turn. This adds to the battle strategy when considering types. For example, if your opponent has a grass type forward and you have a water type forward, you would rotate your water type to put a fire type in front.

Hopefully, my explanations made sense. If not, don't worry, they are far less complicated when the game explains it to you. If you like the Rotational Battles better, then you might want to gt Pokemon Black since it has 4 of those and only 1 Triple Battle. Maybe rotational battles aren't your thing and you want to do Triple Battles. Then, you should consider Pokemon White.

~~~~ Trainer Differences ~~~~There are sometimes minute differences in the pokemon line up of different trainers. I don't really feel that this is significant to talk about. However, one somewhat large change is the gym leader in the 8th gym. Pokemon Black features a stern old man, whereas Pokemon White shows a young girl. These gym leaders have the same pokemon, the only thing different is their appearances/avatar.

Strategic Note: The sum of the base stats for both legendaries is 680, however, the spread is slightly different. In terms of base stats, both have base 100 hp and 90 speed. Reshiram has 120 attack, 100 defense, 150 special attack, 120 special defense. Zekrom has 150 attack, 120 defense, 120 special attack, 100 special defense. This means that Reshiram is better suited to deal and take special attacks, while Zekrom is more suited to deal and take physical attacks.

In my opinion, I think Zekrom will be far more useful for competitive battling. One of the best electric pokemon is Zapdos. However, Zapdos is stunted by its flying type, leaving it vulnerable to devastating attacks such as a 50% health loss from Stealth Rock. This new legendary should easily be able to replace that spot. Plus, the versatility of a dragon type may put it ahead of other notable electric types such as Electivire.

~~~~~~~~Version Exclusives~~~~~~~~~~~

And of course, like all previous pokemon games. Each version has a few pokemon exclusive to only that version. I wouldn't stress out at the loss these pokemon though. You can get all of them through online trades later, if you really want to complete your pokedex and catch 'em all. Check the bottom of the review for a list.

By the way, more people are buying white than black. So if you get black, you may be popular for trades :)

~~~~ Conclusion ~~~~Pokemon Black/White is definitely one of the best pokemon games to come out. I definitely recommend it to anyone of any age. Don't waste time deciding whether or not to get the game: get it. Now, the only decision you have is whether to get Black or White. I decided to go with White. White version just appealed more to me and seemed more "open". Black version looked cluttered, in my opinion. Also, I feel that Zekrom would be more useful in battle. Try checking out screenshots online to help you decide which visual style you like better, then get whichever version you like better!

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

This game is a worthy successor to the original blue/red games. It has re-inspired my love of the series. Gamefreak and Nintendo in general has a fantastic way of knowing how to follow the same, popular, reliable formula with its games but innovate so that everything old seems new again.

Let me get down to the bare bones. This installment is far superior to both diamond/pearl and the remakes of gold/silver. There are a couple of things they did wrong, but mostly they did everything right. A veteran can pick this game up and enjoy the subtleties of the franchise (tournament battling, IVs, EVs.) while new players to the genre can pick it up and dive right in.

The good:

-Huge graphical upgrades. The backgrounds and colors are so crisp and everything flows really well. There are some parts of the game where you can stop your character and just enjoy the scenery. We've come a loooong way from Kanto's pixely environments.-Pokemon battle sprites are FINALLY animated. Probably not as well as they could be, but finally you can see your pokemon moving around on the field.-Musical upgrades. This comes with the territory, but the music is great. Some of the dungeons have really eerie music that takes me back to my original days playing Zelda. I like it. It feels like the music is less of an afterthought in this game.-You can use TMs repeatedly now. So you don't have to worry about buying earthquake 6 different times.-HUGE story upgrades. Seriously. Your character is actually a part of the story now instead of that kid challenging all the gyms who accidentally gets involved with legendary pokemon.-Increased wifi functionality.-Seasons! As a huge sims/animal crossing buff, I'm very pleased that they added ambiance more prevalently into this game.-There is a dream world where you can interact with your pokemon online through a website. I haven't messed with this yet, though. But it sounds pretty cool.-The characters are older so I feel like less of a dork playing a game that is seemingly meant for kids. It's nice to see the series aging a bit.-Most of the new pokemon are awesome. I <3 my snivy/serperior. I appreciate that there's a decent snake pokemon now.-This game is way more challenging, at least in my opinion. They increased the AI on your enemies. Random trainers will now use items and smarter move combinations.-Cinematics. FINALLY.-They got rid of the tedious and incredibly luck based pokemon contests and replaced them with the musicals. The musicals are more based on what props you put on your pokemon, and even if you don't "win" you will still gain fans and get free props.

The main keys are the graphical, story, and functionality upgrades. This game is superior. People had high expectations for this game, and it has met them. However, there are a couple of bad points, though they are minor:

-SOme of the new pokemon are like...what were they even thinking? I realize they can't all be as cool as charizard, but there is a pokemon that is literally a bag of garbage. I'm serious. Go look it up.-The game is way more challenging. This one can go either way, honestly. :D-They took a step backward from HG/SS and made it so that your pokemon don't follow you anymore. I don't understand why something that was so obviously a huge fan favorite would be removed from the series. It should have become a staple or the series, not a one time thing.-The C gear where all the wifi functionality is is...a bit confusing. At least to me. I'd rather have a screen down there where I can see all of my pokemon's statuses rather than the C gear the whole time. An option to switch the screens would have been nice.-Certain upgrades are superfluous and the time spent on them could have been put elsewhere, like improving the battle graphics. I don't particularly want to use my pokemon game to 4 way chat with my friends. Maybe this is a cool feature for other people, but I'm playing my video games to play games. If I want to skype, I'll get on skype or use my droid.-The pokemon musicals really could have been more fleshed out, TBH.-The main enemy team in this game, team plasma, seems more ridiculous than intimidating. Giovanni was cool when he was running team Rocket. Team plasma is just like...I want to beat them up and steal their lunch money. Stop telling me to release my pokemon when you're using pokemon in pokeballs against me. HUGE hypocrites don't make for intimidating villains. They make for ANNOYING villains.

All of these flaws are incredibly minor and mostly my opinion, though. Overall the game is worth the money if you're into the genre. If the idea of a game like pokemon has never appealed to you, this one probably won't change your mind. If you're looking to try the series out, this would be the title to get to test the waters. For veterans it's pretty much a must have game.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

What can I say about the newest pokemon games? It is absolutely amazing. The graphics are by far the best in the series there are now over 640 different pokemon. Also it is placed in more of a big city environment instead of forest. The pokemon are not as memorable but the new changes with the C-gear (which allows for easy access to online play) as well as no evolutions of older pokemon makes everything seem new and different. All I can say is well done gamefreak and Nintendo for making such a great game!

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

I originally pre-ordered this through Amazon, but once I realized Gamestop and Walmart were having midnight releases I quickly canceled my order so I could play this game the day it came out. (Can we say anxious?) So far I'm impressed with this new edition to the series. Even though pokemon has been around for ages with the same dry, yet addicting formula...Pokemon Black seems to have brought a freshness to the game that I'm enjoying.

You start the game in Autumn (did I mention this game has seasons?) My character seems to be a little older which is nice and I love the fact that I wont be fighting a zubat or geodude anytime soon. The new pokemon are interesting. In fact I really like the story in this one. NOOO its nothing epic but its not your run of the mill Team Rocket/Galaxy either. MINOR SPOILER: Team Plasma believes that pokemon should be liberated from the "slavery" of trainers/pokeballs and be free to do whatever they want...END SPOILER. I think the graphics are what makes this game so refreshing. Its nice to see that gamefreak has finally turned it up a notch in that department. I dare say some parts of the game (i.e. towns and bridges) are beautifully done. I'm only about 5 hrs into the game so I've got a ways to go but this game is definetly a must buy! Fans of the series who have gotten burned out with the same old, same old should consider buying Pokemon Black or White because the game has a way of getting you sucked into the drama of 'gotta catch them all' once again, but this time you'll actually want to. It's fun, it's updated, there's surprises....and who doesn't want to catch Victini?

Updated/Revamped graphics, a new region with 150+ new pokemon, and a somewhat different plot has had this 27 year old glued to her DSi for hours knowing good and well I need to get dinner on the table...

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

I absolutely love this game. It has all the loved basics of the Pokemon series and so much more. I have to say after Platinum, Heart Gold, and Soul Silver the games were getting a little stale. Sure, they were excellent remakes, but that's the key word, "Remakes". Pokemon White and Black were a sight for sore eyes. A completely new game with all new Pokemon. Very, VERY refreshing! It feels like I'm taking my first steps in Red and Blue all over again! It's nice to start fresh with a new team, not going into every cave and seeing the repetitive Geodude and Zubat. I actually feel excited every time I enter a new area, not knowing what new Pokemon might pop out at me. These games are also a lot more serious. The Pokemon are sharper and look tougher, and the bad guys aren't just evil for the sake of being evil. They have motives and are actually trying to do good. They have also greatly improved the online capabilities of the games also. Video chat included! I recommend this to any longtime Pokemon fans, or people who are new to the series. It is a wonderful change in pace and a great addition to a DS collection!

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

I'm fairly comfortable in saying that this tops Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver. The amount of improvements to the game is simply astonishing for a company that's been retreading the same territory since Ruby and Sapphire. To start, every Pokemon is original. The Unova Pokedex contains no repeats from other games. Thus, you won't encounter an old Pokemon until you beat the main game - which for me was about 50 hours of gameplay. This means no Zubats. Every area contains new and unique Pokemon which are genuinely interesting - although your mileage may vary, as some dislike the new designs.

This is also the first Pokemon game that requires spoiler tags. The plot is not driven by a need to become the Champion but a need to defeat Team Plasma, a Pokemon rights activist group that took the words "Knights Templar" too literally and actually dress like Knights Templar. Their main goal is to "liberate" Pokemon from human cruelty. For anyone who's ever made a 'dogfighting' joke about this series, the subtle jab at the player is much appreciated.

Throughout the game you will be fighting Team Plasma rather frequently. And out in the open too - they aren't content to sit in a warehouse and wait for you to attack them. Their leader is an actually convincing anti-villain who might even solicit some tears from more emotional players during the ending.

With that I will say that Gyms are still in the game. Each gym has a varied puzzle mechanic which is fun and interesting. Additionally, the first gym serves as a sort of tutorial about type advantages, as there are actually three leaders in this one. You fight the leader with a type advantage against your starter Pokemon, forcing you to find something with better type coverage.

In Diamond and Pearl, GameFreak used the 3D environments very conservatively, attempting to mimic the top-down format of previous games. Black and White eschews this. For starters, everything uses perspective projection now. Insides of buildings, etc. Certain paths can be circular now, most notably Castelia City's docks. Skyarrow Bridge, the route that takes you to Castelia City, uses camerawork to show the immense size of the bridge as you walk across it, an impressive feat.

Musically the game is top-notch, with many genuinely interesting compositions from series musicians Junichi Masuda, Go Ichinose, and others. Interestingly enough the game's audio is contextual and interactive. Almost every town and city has musicians that play extra layers on top of the music. The most interesting is Village Bridge, a post-game area, which contains a fully voiced song (in Japanese, no less) which you can play by talking to someone on the bottom of the bridge. Battle themes are much different this time around, taking a more electronic vibe than before. Trust me, you will crotch-thrust your DS, popping and locking, when facing one of the cover-art legendaries.

At this point, you've probably already closed the tab and bought the game. That means if you're still reading, you are a Gen 1 or Gen 2 elitist who stopped playing because of Ruby and Sapphire. I'd like to humbly ask you to buy this game. It's an actually worthy re-imagining of the series and feels like playing Red and Blue for the first time. But it has all of the technical improvements seen in the third and fourth generations.

If that doesn't get you to buy it, then I'll say one more thing: HMs are almost optional. In the main game, there's only one time in which you actually have to use an HM (Cut). HM moves guard only optional areas this time around - and you don't need a gym badge to use one, only to have the HM.

Overall, Pokemon Black and White is a truely enjoyable game which will unite both "Gen 1 elitists" as well as newer players - yes, even more than HeartGold and SoulSilver did. The amount of new content and improvements reads almost like a wishlist of things that Pokemon fans have been asking for as well as some things we didn't even know we wanted.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

Main-series Pokémon games are mostly all the same, so there's not much to say about them. They all follow the same pattern and so on. So if you've played one, you can assume that everything is pretty much the same as it's always been.

However, compared to HeartGold and SoulSilver, which i absolutely LOVED, this game feels very sloppy. I have heard that it was developed concurrently with HGSS and that on top of that it was rushed -- maybe that's why. But it's no excuse. It makes for a very disappointing game considering i just put 300+ hours into the previous generation.

I am an older player (24), so i probably have a different perspective on this than a 10-year-old, but here is a very long list of the bad things and the good ones. First the bad:

1. Unlike HGSS, the touch screen is almost completely un-used except for within the PC interface and during battles. Throughout the entire game you have this pointless 'C-GEAR' feature taking up the entire bottom screen. The menu can only be accessed by pressing X. If you turn the Dowsing Machine on, you have to press X to close it and then press X again to bring the menu up. You can not talk to people with the touch screen. You can't skip dialogue with the touch screen. You can't even skip the opening intro with the touch screen. It feels like, why even bother having a touch screen when you don't use it for anything?

2. Unlike HGSS, you can not turn on auto-run. You have to hold B the entire time.

3. Unlike... every Pokémon game for the last 10 years... you can not set it so that the L button functions like the A button. There's no reason for this, the L button doesn't actually DO anything in the game, they've just inexplicably removed the feature.

4. Unlike HGSS, the menu system is very poorly thought out. Despite what i said above about the touch screen being almost completely un-used, some features in the menu can ONLY be accessed with the stylus -- so not only is the game inconveniencing you by almost never using the touch screen, it's also inconsistent about it.

The item menu is EXTREMELY slow and cumbersome. If you obtain a new item, it pushes the entire menu down a notch, so when you go back into it you've selected a different item. This is very irritating when you're going through a cave or something and you keep using Repels. You might have a Super Repel highlighted the entire time, but then you find a Poké Ball or something on the ground, and now suddenly you're trying to spray a Sun Stone.

The above also comes into play in the Poké Ball menu during battles. If at some point you pick up a Poké Ball that you didn't already have, the game will completely re-arrange the Poké Ball menu in the battle interface. This has led me to almost waste my Master Ball several times, because the items are not where i expect them to be.

Another example of inconsistency: Once you have brought up the menu (by pressing X), you can then navigate it using the touch screen. You can select 'Save' with the stylus, you can select 'Yes' you would like to save the game with the stylus... but then you can't get OUT of the Save screen without pressing A. It is not possible to dismiss the 'You saved the game.' message with the stylus.

5. The PC has seen almost no improvements over Platinum. You still have to select 'Move Pokémon' every time. Why does it even HAVE the 'Deposit' and 'Withdraw' options? They're completely worthless. At the very least, put the Move option at the top of the menu.

6. Viewing stats and so on is more difficult than in previous games. Re-arranging moves is cumbersome and requires several button presses to reach the correct menu location.

7. All of the personal 'emotional' sort of touches that were added to HGSS are gone. Your Pokémon no longer follow you around on the map. You can no longer see ribbons from the status menu. There are no touching moments with your Pokémon like when Ethan/Lyra gives you the Leaf Crown in HGSS.

8. Pokéathlon is gone. It has been replaced by Pokémon Musicals, which i earnestly believe is the dumbest and most pointless feature ever to be added to any Pokémon game. I thought the Contests in Platinum were bad -- this is far far worse. It is SO stupid. Don't even attempt to do it, you will be all the more disappointed.

9. The game now censors your Pokémon names. Some might say that's a good thing, little kids are playing after all. However, automatic censorship of 10-character names is difficult to the point of being useless. Aside from the fact that there are thousands of variations of bad words that kids will come up with, here is an example of just how difficult it is to do: It is not possible to trade the Pokémon 'Cofagrigus' on the GTS (without giving it a nickname) because the censorship objects to the official name that Nintendo gave it. Seriously.

10. The PC boxes are censored as well. Completionists in Pokémon games often fill their PC boxes with all of the Pokémon they've obtained in order of their Pokédex number, and then name the boxes accordingly. For instance, your first box might be named '001-030' or '001-074' (if you skip pre-evolutions like me). Many people have done this in Pokémon games for several years. This is no longer possible, because for some absurdly arbitrary reason you can no longer have more than 4 digits in a PC box name. ???

11. Nintendo had the chance to really improve the trading system. You could see it going that way (there have been several good changes -- see below), but then they un-did all of their work it by forcing you to choose a Pokémon to trade TWICE, and then of course confirm it TWICE. It is so irritating.

12. Although you see this complaint with every new generation, i have to say that many of the new Pokémon are extremely un-inspired. For instance, the fighting Pokémon named 'Sawk' and 'Throh' are just blue and red guys in karate suits. (And honestly, 'Throh'? That's really what you came up with?)

That said, there are many good parts to the game:

1. Some of the new Pokémon, on the other hand, are quite rad. I very much like Reuniclus and Chandelure.

2. The updated Pokémon sprites/animations are, for the most part, very nice.

3. The game is much faster. Battles are quicker, even with animations turned on. Trading seems twice as fast, although this is cancelled out by the extra step they make you go through before-hand (see above).

4. You can now trade Pokémon directly from your PC -- you don't have to put them in your party anymore.

5. Related to the above, the Poké Transfer feature -- which allows you to migrate Pokémon from Generation IV games to B/W -- is very fast, and also allows you to select Pokémon directly from the PC. You trade six at a time and it only takes a moment or two (even with the mini-game you have to play, which is easy). It also doesn't kick you out after you complete a transfer. I was pleasantly surprised.

6. The music in the game is fantastic. Driftveil, Mistralton, Cold Storage, and Village Bridge all have really catchy themes.

7. There is a lot to do post-game -- although not as much as in HGSS.

8. Your main rival and antagonist, N, is probably the best antagonist in any Pokémon game, ever. I like him a lot.

9. The story has several moments of genuine humour. A lot of it is pun-based, but there are other moments that are funny as well. A character from Platinum makes a cameo at the end of the game which i honestly laughed aloud at.

10. Some parts of the game have been made less tedious. An obvious example is the fact that TMs last for ever. Another example is that experience gain has been reworked -- you now gain extra experience if your Pokémon is lower than the enemy Pokémon. This change also applies to Pokémon holding an Exp Share. This makes levelling up a lot easier and faster.

Overall, i found the game pretty good. If you like Pokémon games, i wouldn't turn this one down. However, despite its handful of improvements, it is no-where near as good as HeartGold and SoulSilver were. I am hopeful that this is just because they were rushed, and that the next generation, or even the 'Grey' version, will re-add all of the advancements that were made in HGSS.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

The upgrades in both Black and White are a welcome change from previous games. Diamond and Pearl were vast improvements over older games and Black and White are vast improvements over Diamond and Pearl. The graphics have all been redone and I mean all redone. There is a much stronger 3d visual effect throughout the game. Not 3D as in 3DS visuals but just a greater sense of depth and detail which, for me at least, helps really bring the game to life. Detail is key with Pokemon games and Gamefreak shows us they understand that. We now have seasons in the game that change every month as well as a welcome variety of online connectivity that allows players to not just trade or battle but meet up and conduct missions together as well as other ways to interact with trainers. It is apparent Gamefreak understands the importance of interactivity and connection among trainers and B&W are real indications of that. I can only imagine what future games will be like regarding connectivity and socialization. This is only the beginning! Another Welcome feature is the addition of a battery life meter on the touch screen. Now we don't have to wonder how much time we have left until our DS light turns red. We can see it coming. When I say the graphics have all been updated and redone I mean it. Crossing the Skyarrow Bridge was visually amazing and Castelia City was a visual feast for the eyes and those are just the begining of what lies ahead for trainers. Even when in a battle the detail is better. The pokemon aren't just still images anymore but are active and drawn in which adds a fun level of game play I wasn't expecting. A nice added feature in battle is the addition of a slide bar that appears when effects like intimidation are used by either you or the opponent pokemon. It slides on screen to let you know the pokemon used /resisted or didn't resist it. It is a small but welcome feature that adds to the battle, at least for me and the battle menu is larger making those accidental miss-taps less frequent.I preferred the bag menu system from Pearl but it isn't that much different and isn't even an issue overall. The story is deeper as well and you will see that minutes after you start your journey. Past games have been a little short on the story, though good and entertaining, they have been short and to the point. White and Black have deeper story lines though not so deep as to take away from the fun but I have to admit, the premise for team plasma's agenda caught me a little off guard and it did make me think, as weird as that may sound but you'll see what I mean. I haven't finished the game yet but I am looking forward to finding out the resolution Gamefreak intends for plasma's ideology. White and Black are games ANYONE can pick up and start. You don't need to have played previous versions to play this one (unless you want to `catch them all') and they are definitely games that have forged new territory for us long time Trainers. They are a visual joy with a deep story line and beautiful graphics that truly create an amazing world to look at as well as immerse yourself into.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

I'm a teenage girl, and I used to love the Pokemon cards and shows when I was younger. However, I never played any of the games until this year. I tried Pokemon Diamond and kind of liked the whole experience, deciding I would try Pokemon (I have run out of games I haven't beaten/am interested in). Then I preordered White. During my wait, I also bought SoulSilver and have also liked it. However, I finally got my copy of White today and it's by far the best Pokemon game I have played yet.Not only do the Pokemon have new animations to make them more lively and interesting during battles, but everything is more detailed to give the title a breath of life. Even now, it's Autumn in my game, and the leaves blow pleasantly past my screen. Battle seems to be more fast-paced, with less wait time for the screens to roll by and less impatience for me. I enjoy the story-line, although I admit I haven't gotten to see the whole picture quite yet.Overall, I highly recommend this, not as a Pokemon fan, but as someone who was genuinely curious about the Pokemon games, wanting to get into the series, and as a plain gamer who needed a new game. These games are for all ages, and are very fun and challenging. Take the opportunity now to get into the series, as all new Pokemon are added (old ones are excluded until the game is completed past a certain point), therefore making it new for everyone, Lifetime Pokemon fans and Newcomers alike.